Muscat, Oman – Zob Ahan scored a 3-0 shutout victory in Group B of the Asian Champions League on 20 April against Al-Nassr of Saudi Arabia.
The scoring began in the 27th minute when Ghassem Hadadifar sent a long pass from his own half that found Payam Sadeghian. The young midfielder kept his cool and easily slotted the ball with his left past Al-Nassr keeper Abdullah Al-Enezi.
Zob Ahan did a good job of maintaining possession throughout the match and never found themselves in much danger.
The goal of the match took place in the 74th minute when left back Hashem Beikzadeh sent in a cross that was headed by forward Morteza Tabrizi and then volleyed in with authority by forward Kaveh Rezaei.
Nine minutes later, Payam Sadeghian showed why he was the man of the match when he added his second with an excellent solo effort. Sadeghian evaded the Al-Nassr defense and shot the ball with his left foot that went through the legs of keeper Al-Enezi to give Zob Ahan a 3-0 victory.
The win for Zob Ahan means that they have won Group B and they have also eliminated Al-Nassr from the Asian Champions League. Zob Ahan will play the runner-up of Group D in the knockout stage but will conclude group play when they face Al-Nassr in Dubai on 4 May.
Even though this match was played in Muscat, the Iranian supporters were loud and made themselves heard throughout the stadium. By hearing the chants, one may have thought they were watching a match between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Meanwhile, in Group A, Sepahan Isfahan were eliminated from Asian Champions League with their fourth consecutive loss as they were trounced by Al-Ittihad of Saudi Arabia 4-0 in Doha, Qatar.